pHion Therapeutics is a U.K.-based vaccine development company. It is developing a pipeline of therapeutic and prophylactic vaccines focussed on viral infections and oncology.
The company’s proprietary RALA platform can deliver anionic molecules, such as mRNA and DNA, in a stealth-like way, evading detection, to generate a potent antigen-specific CD8+ T-cell response.
The RALA peptide-based drug delivery system is based on a sequence of 30 amino acids that condenses anionic cargo, irrespective of size, into nanoparticles, which are efficient at cellular entry. The platform has the added advantage of ease of scalability and logistics, including stability at room temperature.
pHion’s lead product is a therapeutic vaccine against HPV driven cancers (PTX_V1), with phase I/IIA clinical trials planned to commence in 2023.
pHion’s pipeline programs also include therapeutics against ovarian (PTX_V5), prostate (PTX _V3), pancreatic cancers (PTX_C1), and a next generation COVID-19 mRNA vaccine that codes for multiple antigens.
The company is headquartered in Belfast, Northern Ireland, and it was there that we talked to the company’s CEO, Helen McCarthy, about the company, its products and pipeline.